Bruchmüller’s peacetime career was undistinguished, and he was retired as a lieutenant colonel on medical grounds in 1913. Recalled to active duty in 1914, he served on the Eastern Front, where in 1915–16 he recognized the limitations of long artillery preparations and massive barrages. Instead, Bruchmüller advocated combined operations in which intense bombardments, lasting only a few hours, would stun the defenders just before attacking infantry could reach them. He also favoured heavy use of gas and smoke shells, which immobilized and disrupted targets without destroying the intervening ground. Systematic preparation of the attack front, accompanied by surprise and secrecy, were essential tactical requirements. The core of Bruchmüller’s system, however, was the functional, flexible organization of artillery under central control for specific purposes such as deep interdiction, counterbattery, and close support.

First tested at the attack on Riga, Russia, in September 1917, Bruchmüller’s methods proved so successful that, despite intense opposition within some military quarters, they were adopted for the March 1918 Western offensive. Bruchmüller was responsible for fire support in five separate attacks. While unable to compensate for the army’s lack of tanks, the German artillery was so successful at breaking open Allied defenses that its commander received the nickname Durchbruchmüller (“Breakthrough Müller”). Inscribed on his tombstone, the nickname epitomizes Bruchmüller’s status as the father of modern artillery methods.